Three upcoming opportunities to get some futurist training:

The Symposium on the Future is an online conference presented by the New Media Consortium (NMC) October 27–29, 2009. Particularly aimed at educators and creatives, the conference will explore the “actual and potential applications of technology that could impact issues of global importance over the next five years and beyond.” Keynote speakers will include Gardner Campbell of Baylor University; Beth Kanter, social media activist; and invited speaker Anne Haywood, NMC program consultant to the National Geographic Society.

If you are interested in something a little more broad-ranging, consider the 2010 annual meeting of the World Futures Society which will be held July 8-10 in Boston, Mass. I went last year, and it was an interesting blend of professional futurists (largely marketing their services to the energy industry), academics, interested amateurs and, of course, my favorite futurist fringe element, the Transhumanists.

And, if you want to go hardcore, I highly recommend the Certificate in Strategic Foresight at the University of Houston’s Futures Studies program. This 5-day, project-based, face-to-face workshop is being offered Jan 11-15, 2010. The graduate program in Futures Studies at the University of Houston is led by Dr. Peter Bishop, who is a member of the CFM Council.

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